Only A Passing Thing
by Janna Silver Hawkins
Summary: The Doctor thinks on the destruction of Gallifrey after 'Dalek' and Rose tries to find out whats wrong. Contains Nine/Rose


I'm not sure where the idea for this fic came from. Maybe from watching a lot of explosions on _Stargate SG-1_?  
dedicated to DanaeMariSkywalker. lots of hugs :)

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__But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass_~ Samwise Gamgee

Fire. Even if it was only a small, warming one in a fireplace it always reminded him of the time he had seen an entire planet covered in it. And when that memory surfaced it was not only filled with flames, but terrified screams cut short and blinding white light. Gallifrey burning in the heavens. He had thought that the only remotely good thing about his entire race being destroyed was that they were taking down the Daleks with them, ridding the stars of that menace forever. At least that was what he had thought.

The encounter with the lone Dalek in Henry Van Statten's underground complex had caused the worst of those horrible memories to resurface. And they were made worse still when he thought he had lost Rose. Even when he had held her in his arms and convinced himself that she was alive after the Dalek had destroyed itself, the memories lingered.

So here he sat, in the TARDIS' expansive library staring into the dancing flames of the fireplace. Lost in his memories. Once he had had the chance to destroy every Dalek, before Davros had formed them into an army. He hadn't taken that chance then. Had he only known then what those terrible creatures would eventually force the Time Lords to do.

He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't hear Rose come in. He only noticed her when she tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up he could see only concern in her eyes.

"I was worried about you," she said, as she sat on the arm of his chair. "You disappeared as soon as we were in the vortex and I had to deal with Adam and try to explain everything."

A small smile formed on his face only for it to disappear almost immediately as the memory of her being trapped reasserted itself in his mind.

Rose frowned and walked around to the front of his chair, obscuring the fireplace. "Doctor, please tell me, whats wrong."

He refused to meet her eyes.

"Is this because of me bringing Adam with?"

The Doctor let a smirk quickly cross his face and shook his head.

"Is this because of what happened down in the vault?"

He flinched and had to blink quickly in order to hide the tears welling up in them.

Rose knelt on the carpet in front of his chair and gently took his hand in hers. "Doctor, tell me."

He got up from the chair and sat down cross-legged on the floor next to her and reached his hand up to softly touch her cheek. "I thought I'd lost you," he whispered.

"Can't get rid of me," she repeated, tightly squeezing the hand she still held.

The Doctor smiled and let his hand drift downwards to cup her chin. Then without any warning, gently pressed his lips to hers for a moment then pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

Rose blinked and looked questioningly into the clear blue eyes that were searching her face.

That kiss had been, to borrow a favourite phrase of his: 'fantastic'. Why then was he slowly losing his smile and moving away from her? No, that was not going to happen. Not since he had decided to take that step. She leaned forward and captured his mouth with hers whilst wrapping her arms around his neck, keeping him from breaking the kiss.

When she finally released him she was shocked to see that there was moisture glistening in his eyes. She frowned. "What? Why are you crying? Am I that bad of a kisser?"

He chuckled and brushed a strand of hair away from her face before lowering his lips to hers again. As he pulled back a huge yawn formed on Rose's face, forcing him to grin.

He stood and pulled her upright and into his arms. "Rose Tyler, you've had a long day. Time for bed."

She scowled and shook her head just as another yawn took over her face. "I don't want to. I wanna stay here with you."

The Doctor smiled. "I'll be here tomorrow. You'll need your rest for all the chasing you're going to be doing to keep Adam out of trouble. Goodnight." He kissed her forehead and gently pushed her towards the door.

She turned and looked back at him before leaving, with a sleepy smile. "Love you, Doctor."

"Who wouldn't?" he replied with a teasing grin. Then, as she seemed to frown he strode quickly over to where she was. Gathering her into his arms again he whispered, "I love you, Rose Tyler."

She practically beamed and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before heading off to her room.

After she was gone, the Doctor turned towards the fire and for the first time it didn't seem to signify death and destruction, but rather happiness and hope. The lonely angel had finally found a soul to ally with in order to fight back the darkness.


End file.
